Citizens for Global Solutions

INTERNATIONAL LAW AND JUSTICE | UNSC Resolution 1422

UN SECURITY COUNCIL GRANTS ONE-YEAR EXEMPTION FOR PEACEKEEPERS

July 12, 2002 -- Amidst growing threats by U.S. officials to end UN peacekeeping if exemptions were not secured, the UN Security Council approved a resolution shielding UN peacekeepers from prosecution by the International Criminal Court for one year. The Resolution left the Security Council the option of renewing the exemptions annually. Approval of this resolution was immediately followed by two unanimous votes extending UN peacekeeping missions in Bosnia and Prevlaka.

The pact came after weeks of impassioned negotiations between the United States and its closest allies in Europe, Mexico and Canada, who strongly support the International Criminal Court and publicly opposed U.S. efforts to use the 15-nation council to carve out special protections from the court for individuals from countries like the U.S. that have not ratified the Rome Treaty.

The 15-0 vote did not reveal the deep bitterness that some delegates expressed about the final comprise. Mexico's UN representative, Adolfo Aguilar Zinser, walked out of the council chamber, leaving his deputy to cast his government's vote. "The general opinion of the international community is that this is wrong," Zinser said before the vote. Canada's UN ambassador, Paul Heinbecker, blasted the council for defying the will of the U.N. membership. "This is a sad day for the United Nations," he said. "We don't think it is in the mandate of the Security Council to interpret treaties that are negotiated somewhere else. It's not appropriate to create two classes of people under international law, one which is for peacekeepers and one . . . for everybody else."

38 Nations Respond to U.S. Demands
July 10, 2002 -- U.S. demands of exemptions for UN peacekeepers gained no support during the United Nations Security Council open debate today. The meeting allowed 38 nations the opportunity to provide input on U.S. efforts to obtain a Security Council resolution providing peacekeepers exemption from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court.

Full transcript of the debate, as transcribed by the UN
Part I (am) (PDF)
Part II (pm) (PDF)

Countries Contributing Testimony
Canada (PDF)
New Zealand (PDF)
South Africa (PDF)
Denmark (representing the EU) (HTML)
United States (PDF)
France (PDF, French)
Bulgaria
India (PDF)
Costa Rica (representing the 19 countries of the RIO Group)
Islamic Republic of Iran (PDF)
Jordan (PDF)
China
Russian Federation
Ireland (PDF)
Mongolia (PDF)
Liechtenstein (PDF)
Brazil (PDF)
Switzerland (PDF, French)
Singapore (HTML)
Mauritius
Mexico (PDF, Spanish)
Norway (PDF)
Thailand
Venezuela
Fiji
Bosnia-Hergezovina (PDF)
Guinea
Columbia
Samoa
Malaysia (PDF)
Germany (PDF)
Syria
Cameroon
Sierra Leone (PDF)
Argentina
Yugoslavia (PDF)
Cuba (PDF, Spanish)
United Kingdom
Ukraine

U.S. Agrees to Temporary Extension of Peacekeeping
July 3, 2002 -- After a long battle in the UN Security Council, the U.S. again agreed to extend the UN peacekeeping mission in Bosnia, this time until July 15, 2002. Only days earlier, with time running out on the Bosnia mission, the U.S. used its Security Council veto power to block a routine six-month renewal of the mission in a last ditch attempt to gain exemption for peacekeepers from the International Criminal Court. The 13 to 1 vote in the 15-member council showed overwhelming support for the continuation of peacekeeping efforts in the region. (Bulgaria abstained from voting.) With support for the Bosnian mission still blocked by the US, peacekeeping missions in Prevlaka, Lebanon, Georgia, and Western Sahara are now in jeopardy if the U.S. continues wielding its veto power in the Security Council.

Nations participating in the ICC's Preparatory Commission, held at the UN at the same time, sharply criticized the U.S. tactics
Denmark on behalf of the EU (PDF) July 1, 2002
Canada (PDF) July 3, 2002
Fiji (PDF) July 3, 2002
Liechtenstein (PDF) July 3, 2002
Switzerland (PDF) July 3, 2002
Yugoslavia (PDF) July 1, 2002
Liechtenstein (PDF) July 1, 2002
Chart of Government Positions as of July 3, 2002 (PDF)

Determined not to give in to U.S. efforts to undermine the ICC's jurisdiction, 117 nations stepped forward to question the UN Security Council's authority to alter an international treaty (such as the ICC's Rome Treaty).

"What is now at stake is not the ICC versus peacekeeping; the fundamental principles of international law and international relations are at jeopardy," said Canadian ICC Preparatory Commission representative, Paul Heinbecker, who added that approval of the U.S. proposals would send an unacceptable message that peacekeepers were above the law.

ICC Preparatory Commission chairman Philippe Kirsch called on all States to safeguard the independent and effective functioning of the ICC and appealed to Council members to ensure an outcome that fully respects the letter and spirit of the Rome Statute.

U.S. Vetoes Peacekeeping in Bosnia
June 30, 2002 -- The US held good on its threat today to hold all UN peacekeeping operations hostage until its soldiers are granted immunity from the International Criminal Court, the Statute of which enters into force July 1. In a 13 to 1 vote of the UN Security Council, the U.S. stood alone to veto a six-month renewal of peacekeeping operations in Bosnia.

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan Statement to the Security Council: "World Cannot Afford Security Council's Deep Divide on Such Important Issue"

U.S. Allows Temporary Extension but Threatens Veto
June 21, 2002 -- The Bush Administration is threatening to hold UN peacekeeping hostage until U.S. troops are guaranteed immunity from the International Criminal Court, the Statute of which enters into effect July 1, 2002. Recently, the U.S. quietly concluded an agreement with the transitional government of Afghanistan to exempt U.S. soldiers working there from the jurisdiction of non-U.S. courts. Now the Bush Administration is trying to establish a similar arrangement with UN peacekeeping missions.

With the Bosnia mission up for renewal on June 21, the U.S. has been drafting resolutions in the Security Council to provide immunity from the ICC for UN peacekeepers. Because 12 of the Security Council's 15 members officially opposed the proposal (with the two other nations, Singapore and Syria, undecided), the U.S. agreed to a 10 day extension of the Bosnia mission without the U.S. language inserted. Officials representing the European Union's 15 members have taken the stance that supporting U.S. demands for immunity would violate their obligations under the Rome Treaty, but the Bush Administration is expected to demand further consideration of its proposal before the end of the month.

Partnership for Effective Peacekeeping Briefing Note

U.S. Fails to Win Exemption; East Timor Peacekeeping Will Continue
May 17, 2002 -- The Bush Administration threatened to veto the Security Council renewal of the East Timor peacekeeping mission if it did not receive an exemption for U.S. soldiers from the International Criminal Court. In a vote on May 17, however, the U.S. set aside its objections when it became clear that its proposal was not supported by any other Security Council member. The Administration is not expected to let this debate die; between now and when the Court's Statute takes effect on July 1, the U.S. will likely renew its demands for peacekeeping exemptions.